NEW DELHI, June 15: Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Centre’s April 4 notification that suspended operation of some rules in the PNDT (Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act. A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit said, the issue of female foeticide is important but the centre’s notification is valid till June 30 & was issued due to COVID19 pandemic where doctors’ services are required.
“It is a national crisis right now. Services of doctors, nursing staff are required elsewhere. Their services need to be conserved. But we give you liberty to approach us if the notification is renewed after June 30,” the court said.
The Apex Court also issued notice to the Centre on the petition filed by Sabu Mathew George, challenging a notification issued by Health Ministry in April this year suspending certain “time sensitive rules with deadlines” under the law that prohibit sex determination in India in view of outbreak of Corona pandemic. (PTI)
Justice Lalit told Senior Advocate Sanjay Parikh, who appeared for the petitioner “See the kind of difficult situation the country is in.
A lot of medical professionals, doctors are required for all this work. We are in a national emergency and the relaxation is also only till June 30.”
The notification, dated 4 April, suspended rules 8, 9(8) and 18 A (6) of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, (PCPNDT Act).
The petitioner said that the notification of the Central government could be misused by unscrupulous sections to conduct sex determination tests freely. (UNI)
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